Chapter 1 Classification of Motor Skills
Motor learning involves the study of:
1. Acquisition of new skills 2. Performance enhancement of well-learned skills 3. Reacquisition of skills following injury, disease, etc.
4 characteristics can describe any motor skill: 2 Environmental context characteristics
1. Are the regulatory conditions stationary or in motion? 2. Do the regulatory conditions change from trial to trial?
Function of the action Two characteristics
1. Body orientation 2. Object manipulation
Specificity of Where Actions Begin or End Two main categories:
1. Discrete motor skills 2. Continuous motor skills
4 characteristics can describe any motor skill: 2 Action function characteristics
1. Does the action goal require maintaining the body in the same location or transporting the body from one place to another? 2. Is an object manipulated?
Two-dimensions of the taxonomy:
1. Environmental context 2. Function of the action
Three Reasons Why Movements are Different than Motor Skills
1. People learn skills/actions (while people have unique movements even within learned skill) 2. People adapt movement characteristics to achieve a common action goal 3. People evaluate motor skill performance and movements with different types of measures
Environmental context Two characteristics
1. Regulatory conditions 2. Intertrial variability
One-Dimension , 3 terms
1. Size of Musculature 2. Specificity of beginning and end of action 3 . Stability of environment
characteristics of skills and actions
1. a goal to achieve; motor skills have a purpose 2. performed voluntarily types of motor skills of interest; not considering reflexes as skills 3. a motor skill requires head, body, and or limb movement to accomplish the goal of the task 4. Need to be learned or relearned.
2 ways to distinguish motor skills according to whether intertrial variability
1. absent 2. present
2 body orientation characteristics that are important for classifying motor skills
1. body stability 2. body transport
2 categories of a skill requires a specific beginning and ending
1. discrete motor skill 2. continuous motor skill
2 categories based on the size of the muscle group required to perform the skill
1. gross motor skills 2. fine motor skills.
motor skills are studied in two ways
1. motor learning 2. motor control
- arbitrary beginning and end points; usually involve repetitive movements
Continuous motor skills
a motor skill with clearly defined beginning and end points
Discrete motor skill-
usually requiring a simple movement
Discrete motor skill-
- specified beginning and end points, usually require a simple movement
Discrete motor skills
a motor skill that requires control of small muscles to achieve the goal of the skill
Fine motor skill-
typically involves eye-hand coordination and requires a high degree of precision of hand and finger movement
Fine motor skill-
Two-Dimension 4 terms
Gentile's 1.Regulatory Conditions 2.Intertrial Variability 3.Body Orientation 4.Object Manipulation
a motor skill that requires the use of large musculature to achieve the goal of the skill
Gross motor skill-
Motor control involves the study of:
How the neuromuscular system functions to enable coordinated movement While learning a new skill While performing a well-learned skill
Motor development involves the study of:
Human development from infancy to old age Issues related to either motor learning or motor control
Whether the regulatory conditions are the same or different from one performance attempt to another
Intertrial variability
refers to whether the regulatory conditions that exist for the performance of a skill in one situation or for one trial are present or absent in the next situation or trial
Intertrial variability-
a motor skill involving a series of discrete skills order of actions is important
Serial motor skill-
The benefit of a continuum approach to skill classification
Some motor skills involve both types to achieve the action goal and would be located between the two points
example of body stability
Standing drinking from a cup shooting an arrow in archery
referes to skills that involve no change in body location during the performance of a skill
body stability
skill requires the body to move from one place to another
body transport
Stable or predictable environment Self-paced
closed motor skill
dont change location during the performance of a skill
closed motor skills
motor skill performed in a stationary environment where the performer determines when to begin the action
closed motor skills
walking occurs in a hallway object/people are present but stationary
closed skill for walking
walking occurs in a hallway with no object or other people
closed skill for walking
skills for which regulatory conditions are stationary are
closed skills
motor skill with arbitrary movement beginning and end points
continuous motor skills
typically involves repetitive movements
continuous motor skills
deciding whether on not performing a skill involves moving the body from one location to another
determining the function of an action
whether or not the skills involves holding or using an object
determining the function of an action
skills involve a specified place in the environment to begin and end the movement
discrete motor skill
motor skill with clearly defined movements with beginning and ending posts
discrete motor skills
typically require simple movement skills
discrete motor skills
What is the problem with One-Dimensonal Classification of motor skills
does not always capture the complexity of many skills that a practitioner must take into account when making decisions about instructions , practice routine, or therapy regimen
examples of fine motor skills
drawing, sewing, fastening a button
examples of open motor skills
driving a car stepping on to a moving escalator striking a moving ball catching a thrown ball walking on a sidewalk crowded with people running a distance race with other runners
1st dimension of Gentiles taxonomy
environmental context
specific location where a skill is performed
environmental context
open motor skills can also be referred to as
externally paced
fine motor skill typically involve
eye-hand coordination and a high degree of precision of hand and finger movement
examples of closed motor skils
picking up a cup from a table while standing shooting an arrow at a stationary target buttoning a shirt climbing a flight of stairs hitting a ball of a tee
characteristics of the environmental context that determines the movement characteristics needed to perform an action
regulatory conditions
do not refer to the characteristics of a persons movement BUT rather only to characteristics in the environmental context in which a skill is performed
regulatory conditions
objects and other people may be ________ _________ in a walking environmental context
regulatory conditions
Motor skill performance-
relates to its outcome
for many open skills changes can occur while an action is in progress that will require
require the person to make movement adjustments to conform to these environmental changes
closed motor skills can also be referred to as
self-paced
serial motor skills are also called
sequential motor skills
a motor skill involving a series of discrete skills
serial motor skills
best to locate on the continuum between continuous and discrete skills
serial motor skills
this skill includes the receptive movements of continuous skills and the specified beginning and end points of each movement that characterize discrete skills
serial motor skills
an action or task that has a specific goal to achieve
skill
an indicator of quality of performance
skill
an indicator or quality of performance
skill
denotes an activity or task that has a specific purpose or goal to achieve
skill
a motor skill with arbitrary beginning and end points
Continuous motor skill-
usually involves repetitive movements
Continuous motor skill-
refers to the changing or maintaining of body location
body orientation
relevant environmental context features are stationary (which means they do not change locations during the performance of a skill)
Closed motor skill-
Why distinguish movements from skills? 3 reasons why !
1. people learn actions especially when they begin to learn or relearn motor skills 2. people adapt movement characteristics to achieve a common action goal 3. people evaluate motor skills performance and movements with different types of measures
2 characteristics of environmental context
1. regulatory conditions 2. intertrial variability
3 motor skills classifications systems that use the One-Dimensional Classification
1. size of primary musculature required 2. specificity of where action begins and ends 3. stability of the environmental context
terms related to motor skills
1. skills 2. actions 3. movement
for differentiating motor skills is whether the regulatory conditions are ___________ or ___________
1. stationary 2. in motion
3 features of environmental context
1. supporting surface ( on which the person performs the skill) 2. object involved ( in performing the skill ) 3. other people ( involved in the performance situation)
Gentiles broadened the One-Dimensional approached by considering TWO general characteristics
1. the environmental context ( in which a person performs a skills ) 2. the function of the actions ( characterizing the skill )
The stability of the environment context
1. the supporting surface 2. objects involved 3. other people involved in the environment in which a skill is performed
Stability of the Environmental Context Two main concepts:
1.Closed motor skills 2. Open motor skill
Practical Uses of Gentile's Taxonomy
1.Guide for evaluating motor performance capabilities, limitations, and deficiencies 2.Systematic basis for selecting progressions of functionally appropriate activities to increase performance capabilities overcome performance deficiencies 3.Chart person's progress - developing a profile of competencies
Characteristics of Motor Skills
A Goal Voluntary Use Head/Body/Limb Movements Be Learned/Relearned
Function of the actions characterizing the skill
Body Orientation Object Manipulation
Does the skill require the person to move from one location
Body orientation
the changing or maintaining of body position/location
Body orientation-
a motor skill performed in a stable or predictable environment where the performer determines when to begin the action
Closed motor skill-
performer initiates the movements involved in performing the skill when he or she is ready to
Closed motor skill-
- involve a stationary supporting surface, object, and/or other people; performer determines when to begin the action
Closed motor skills
evaluated by measures that relate to specific characteristics of body, head, limb, and/or muscle activity,
Movements
Skills that require object manipulation are more difficult to perform than skills that involved no object manipulation .....
Must manipulate the object correctly Adjust body posture to accommodate for the imbalance created by the object
Maintaining or changing the position of an object
Object manipulation
Complexity increases when a motor skill involves one or more of the following:
Open environment Trial-to-trial variability Object to manipulate Body transport
involve supporting surface, object, and/or other people in motion; environment features determines when to begin the action
Open motor skill -
a motor skill that involves a nonstable or unpredictable environment where an object or environment context is in motion and determines when to begin the action
Open motor skill-
to perform this type of skill successfully, performer must act according to the movement of a supporting surface, object, and/or other people
Open motor skill-
Environment context in which the person performs the skill
Regulatory Conditions Intertrial Variability
Characteristics of environment that control the movement characteristics of an action
Regulatory conditions
characteristics of the environmental context that determine the required movement characteristics needed to perform an action
Regulatory conditions-
example of object manipulation
a ball tool person reference to holding or using an object
a goal-directed activity that consists of body and/or limb movements
action
synonymously and interchangeable with the term motor skills
action
body transport includes
active and passive changes of body locations
walking involves the ______ ___________ of body location and stationary in a moving bus involves body transport
active changing
a motor skill that requires control of small muscles to achieve the goals of a skill
fine motor skills
examples of discrete motor skills
flipping a light switch depressing the clutch in a car hitting a piano key
gross motor skills are typically called
fundamental motor skills
examples of serial motor skills
gear shifting in a car
motor skill that requires the uses of a large musculature to achieve the goal of the skill
gross motor skill
Discrete motor skill- Examples:
hitting "a" on a keyboard throwing a dart flipping a light switch
Motor skill performance- Examples:
how far they walked length of time it took a person to run a certain distance
whether the regulatory condition during performance are the same or different from one attempt to the perform the skills to another
intertial variability
2nd environmental characteristic
intertrial variability
Movements Examples:
kinematic kinetic electromyographic (EMG) measures
movements are evaluated by
measures that relate to specific characteristics of body, head, limb, and or muscle activity
how our neuromuscular system and limbs involved in the performance of a motor skills
motor control
study of human development from infancy to old age with specific interest in issues related to either motor learning or motor control
motor development
interested in the behavioral and neurological changes that occur as a person learns a motor skill and the variables that influence those changes
motor learning
performance enhancement of learned or highly experienced motor skills or the requisition of skills that are difficult to perform
motor learning
study of the acquisition of motor skills
motor learning
activities or tasks that require voluntary head, body, and/or limb movement to achieve a goal.
motor skill
need to be learned in order for a person to achieve the goal of the skill
motor skill
require voluntary head, body/ limb movement to achieve a specific purpose or goal
motor skills
behavioral characteristics of specific limbs or a combination of limbs that are component parts of an action or motor skill
movements
component of motor skills
movements
indicates behavioral characteristics of the head, body and or a specific limb or combination of limbs
movements
make up or are component parts of motor skills
movements
2nd type of action function
object manipulation
refers to maintaining or changing the position of an object
object manipulation
Nonstable or unpredictable environment Externally-paced
open motor skill
most time the initiation of their movement with an external feature in the environment
open motor skills
motor skill performed that involves a non-stable unpredictable environment where an object or environmental context is in motion and determines when to begin the actions
open motor skills
performer must act according to the movement of a supporting surface, object and or other people
open motor skills
walking occurs in a hallways the object and or other people are in motion
open skill for walking
skills for which regulatory conditions are in motion are
open skills
standing in a moving bus which involves the ___________ _______ of body lotion involves body transport
passive changing
whether the relevant environment context features are stationary or in motion
stability
Continuous motor skill- Examples:
steering a car swimming using a joystick on a video game
examples of continuous motor skills
steering a car tracking a moving cursor on a monitor with a joystick swimming walking
classification system that is organized according to relationships among the component characteristics of whatever is being classified
taxonomy
taxonomy specifies that any motor skill must be considered in terms or
the environmental context in which it is performed the functional role it plays when performed
2nd dimension on which taxonomy is based
the function of an action
Serial motor skill- Examples:
typing a sentence shifting gears in a manual car
examples of body transport
walking running swimming
examples of gross motor skills
walking, jumping, and throwing
to classify a skill as an open or closed it is necessary to determine
whether or not there are objects or other people in the environmental context and when there are objects or other people whether the supporting surface on which a person walks is stationary or in motion
